Infant&#39;s mitten or the like with detachable rattle



INVENTOR.

Sept. 8, 1959 w. o. WELLS, .JR

INFANT'S MITTEN OR THE LIKE WITH DETACHABLE RATTLE V Filed Nov. l0. 1958 States, Patent @ffice 2,902,693 Patented: Sept. 8, 1.959`

. 1. Clan, @La-.158i

In its Ybroadest, sense this invention is directedfto ahand covering.. mayy 'be detachably associated*y ay grasaabls. my, fer. an infants. 1 1arvv-itl2fb While the:y invention,y is applicable to gloves, 'I presentlyV prefer its;

incorporation iny airnitten.,l Hence in its preferred,form` the present inventionlrelates to mittensxfor infantsand,l

particularly, toan;4 improyed infants mitten havingfay rattle detachably associated therewith. However,itf'willIl be appreciated, that," ether.. "gfasrble tQyS than 'a' rattle couldeempleyai When warms a mitten. Qr eleve, an. infant has even,

moredifficulty than bare hand in 'gettin-g, or, re'- taining, a grasp on a toy or'o'the'r'likeobject; By my invention the toy (a rattle, for example) is retained in a graspable. positionl between the' palm and thumb of a mitten, even though4 theV infantllets, go of the toy momentarily,v and unintentionally.

yIn yadditio1'11- to unintentionally letting Vglo of the rattle theremaycome a' time 'in vthe infantsidevelopnient when ,learns toget hisv mothers constant attentionbypur=i posely and repeatedly dropping' the rattle from a`baby carriage or play-pen and then crying until the rattle is returned to his hand. My invention solves that problem, as well, since the rattle is attached to the mitten between the palm and thumb portions in the position in which the rattle would normally be grasped by the childs hand. This permits the child to Wrap his fingers and thumb around the rattle and otherwise manipulate the rattle in a customary manner, despite the childs usual inability to retain the rattle when wearing mittens and, further, assures that the child cannot accidentally or purposely drop the rattle.

However, the invention does not end there, for mittens must be Washable, and yet most rattles are formed either of plastic or precious metals that cannot or should not be subject to the conditions normally encountered in laundering.

One object of the present invention therefore is to mount the rattle for ready detachment from the mitten by an adult so that the mitten can be laundered or Washed by machine in a customary manner without damage to the rattle. This affords the further advantage that the rattle may be sterilized separately of the mitten by a media which might otherwise be detrimental to the material of the mitten. Also, the detachable association of the rattle with the mitten permits use of the mitten in a conventional manner when the mother wants the baby to wear the mitten but does not Want the baby to have the rattle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved infants mitten including, in its preferred embodiment, sleeve means attached to the mitten and a rattle removably inserted in said sleeve means, the sleeve means normally encircling the shank of the rattle to hold the rattle to the mitten and accomodating removal of the rattle by an adult and thus detachment of the rattle from the mitten.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an bodimentof the 'mitten ofthe invention;

improvedH infantls mittenas above defined wherein said sleeve'is likewise detachably associated with the mitten,V preferablyfby means 'of'snap fasteners, further to facilitate Vdetachment ofthe rattle and to render the mitten of-cuhstomary appearance for conventional use.

Other objects andvadvantages of the invention Willbecome Vapparent in the following detailed description.

yNuoyv, in order to acquaint those skilled'in thev art withthe maner ofmaking andvusing the improved mitten of theinvention, there will be described,` in connection with the accompanying dra'wing,a preferred embodiment oflthfe mitten and a preferredmanner of making the Smiles' i I-n the drawing:

Figure 1 is a' perspective View of. the preferred em- Figure 2; is alperspe'ctive View showing the three elemerits ofthe preferredembodimentv detached from one another; and

Figure 3 is a side elevation,of-amodication of thev sleeve yelement of-Figures l andlZ.

Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodif menti'ofthe mitten ofthe invention is" shown as jcomprisingl a mitten body 10` that is conventionally used by infahts"-and includesa palm` portion .1.1: and a thumb portionf-llZ- Positioned on the'vpalm portion 1v1, transverselyv thereof and adjacent vthe crotchfo'r'med-where the base oifthe thumb 12joins the palm, isla sleeve 14-l It is' thenieansfor mounting or associating a toy, in thel form ofa gr'aspable objec`t,`witlh themitten. Inits pre' ferred'fforrmfthe sleeveis resilient andV knittedof the same,materialx asthe mitten body and-isprovided at its ends.`with e'lastic threads 15/Which contract the ends..

Alternatively, the resilient `sleeve rcould" directly be fashg ioedl'with i normally contracted ends.l While'the sleeve could be mounted on the thumb, preferably it is detachably mounted on the palm portion 11 of the body 10 in the position defined by means of fasteners, preferably snap fasteners having their mating parts 16 and 17 sewn respectively to the palm 11 of the mitten body and the sleeve .14. Removably inserted in this sleeve is a conventional double-ended rattle 18 having a shank 19 and enlargements 20 providing shoulders at the oposite ends of the shank. The rattle is normally disposed with its shank 19 within the sleeve 14 and the enlargements 20 thereof exposed at oposite ends of the sleeve, the elastic threads at the end of the sleeve firmly retaining the rattle against inadvertent disassociation from the sleeve over the enlarged ends 20. However, an adult will have no difiiculty in expanding the resilient sleeve 14 to draw it over an enlarged end 20 of the rattle, when separation is desi-red.

As thus mounted, the rattle is normally retained on the mitten body in a position corresponding to that in which the rattle would normally be held by an infant, i.e., with the shank thereof extending transversely of the palm 11 adjacent the crotch formed by the palm 11 and the thumb 12 and with the enlargements 20 positioned to the opposite sides of the palm. Accordingly, the rattle is retained relative to the hand of an infant user of the mitten in the conventional or accepted position for ready use, even though the child `does not maintain a continuous grip on the rattle. Should it be desired to remove the rattle, thereby to permit use of the mitten body in the conventional manner or to permit the child to play With the rattle independently of the mitten when indoors, the sleeve and rattle may readily be detached from the mitten simply by separating the cooperable parts of the snap fasteners. lle-attachment of the rattle to the mitten is, of course, quickly and conveniently eected by means of the fasteners.

Also, when the rattle is detached from the mitten, the

3 mitten may be washed in any conventional manner, such as with hot Iwater in a washing machine-an environment that most plastic rattles cannot endure and to which rattles made of precious metals should not be subjected.

`anaddition, if the'sleeve 14 requires Washing,'the rattle according to the present invention, and the preferred embodiment of a mitten achieving these objects, it is quite obvious that a great many variations may be made in the physical structure illustrated and above described. For example, the fasteners 16, 17 could be replaced by button holes in the palm of the mitten and buttons sewn onto the sleeve. Also, buttons or snaps could be molded or cemented directly onto the shank of the rattle for detachable association, respectively, in button holes in the mitten, or with snaps sewn on the mitten. This, however, would require special formation of the rattle, whereas the sleeve 14 facilitates use of any conventional rattle. As a further alternative, one or two small, unobtrusive elastic bands could be snapped to, sewn to, or

knitted into the palm of the mitten, the band or bandsA lying substantially flush with the mitten palm in the absence of the rattle and being stretchable to accommodate insertion therethrough of the rattle.

Moreover, the sleeve could be split longitudinally and have snaps k21, 22 along its longitudinal edge portions, as shown in Figure 3, for permitting removable association therewith of a rattle. In the latter construction, it would not be necessary for the sleeve to be resilient, since it would not have to pass over the enlarged ends 20, or comparable shoulder means, at the ends of the rattle. Furthermore it could be made of a material which might withstand cleansing media to which the rattle is subjected.

For example, it might itself be made of a tlexible plastic.

material. The knitted sleeve has an advantage, however, in being resilient and yieldable so that if the child pounds objects with his rattle a certain amount of shock is taken up, not only by the knitted mitten but also by the knitted sleeve. Y

Accordingly, while the embodiment of the invention that is regarded as being preferred has been disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that variations, changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the ap-4 pended claim.

What is claimed is:

An infants mitten comprising a mitten body having a palm and a thumb, a resilient sleeve detachably mounted on said palm portion transversely thereof and adjacent the crotch formed where the thumb joins the palm, cooperable snap fasteners on said'palm and said sleeve detachablyV mounting said sleeve on said palm portion, and a rattle having a portion encircled by said sleeve and detachably retained thereby on Said mitten body in av position corresponding to that in which the rattle would normally be held by an infant, said sleeve being split longitudinally of its length and having additional fastening means along said split length for facilitating removal of said rattle from said sleeve to permit laundering of said mitten body and said sleeve separately of the rattle, and said first mentioned fasteners facilitating removal of said sleeve and'said rattle from said mitten body to permit conventional use of said mitten body.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITEDr STATES PATENTS 2,522,3441 Garmin sept. 12, 195o 

